Compliments from my teenager

If you have or had a teenager, I'm sure you realize that compliments from a teenager are very rare.  They are usually telling you how you are embarrassing them.  And, that's when you aren't even doing anything.

RT and I do enjoy trying to embarrass our kids at this age.  Of course, we goof around with them so much, I think they actually enjoy it.

I had to take Bella to the orthodontist the other day.  It was an early visit and I had to get to work that morning.  I took a shower, got ready for the day, grabbed my lunch (and Bella) and I drove to her appointment.  We arrived a little early, so we sat in the waiting room.  Bella was not very talkative.  Probably half asleep.  When her name was called to go to the back, she got up, and before she walked away she said, "Your hair looks really bad."

Now, this was an early appointment so I could drop her off at school, sign her in and then try to get to work on time.  I had this all planned out.  I looked good before we left.  What happened between the time we left the house until we got to the waiting room?

Now I'm sitting in the waiting room thinking about how bad my hair looks.  Luckily I was the only one in the room.    I didn't want to look at the receptionist because she might not be able to hide her emotions when she sees my bad hair.  I sit and pray the visit is going to be quick so I have a couple of minutes to swing back home and tame the wild mess on top of my head.

Bella walks out after 15 minutes, we schedule the next appointment and head out.  In my head, I'm calculating times to get to school, a quick stop at home to perform a miracle on my hair, and then off to work.

As we are getting into the car I ask Bella about my hair.  "How bad is it?"

Bella:  Your hair?  It looks fine.  Why?

Me:  Before you walked away, you told me that my hair looked really bad.

Bella:  Oh, yea.  I was just kidding.  It looks nice.

And, there you have it.

Oh?  Did you miss it?  I'll repeat it for you.  "It looks nice."  Yea.  That was my compliment.

Since I can't get back that time, I'm hoping my worrying about it during those 15 minutes can be considered part of a work out.